Furrier&#39;s cutting tool



Jan. 14, 193'. A. c. IDELBON FURRIEHS CUTTING TOOL Filed June 14, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l mm 2 i w N E my F MM, Ali ATTO RN Evs,

. y A. c. DELBON LL32 FURRIERS CUTTING TOOL Filed June 14, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR lfje/Zflfl BY ifs ATTORNEYS I Patented Jan. 14, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to knives, and particularly to knives for cutting fur-bearing pelts, skins, etc. in the manufacture of fur garments, which knives usually consist essentially of a holder and a detachable blade therein. The chief object of the invention is to provide an improved knife of this kind in which it will be easier and quicker, yet safer, to replace the worn, dull cutting edge or point with a fresh sharp cutting edge or point.

Another object of the invention is to provide a knife of this kind in which, though it is easily removable, the blade can be more securely, yet

more simply mounted and locked in place for i use, than in the ordinary fur-knife.

A further object of the invention is to provide a furriers knife so constructed that it will be impossible for any part to catch on and pull out the hair and damage the fur-piece.

It is also an object of the invention to provide in a knife of this nature, a blade which can be used for a longer time without replacing it and be more economical'and satisfactory in service than the ordinary fur-knife blade.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a knife having this improved character which will notwithstanding be as cheap as the ordinary fur-knife, and withal rugged and durable in service.

Several embodiments of my invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the presently preferred embodiment;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view or edge view of the knife;

Fig. 4 is a similar view with the blade and holder unlocked;

Fig. 5 is an end elevation view of the tool unlocked;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of one of the components of Fig. 1;

Fig.- 7 is a side elevation of a knife with the holder opened, with a different kind of blade;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of this blade;

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the holder locked with another kind of blade;

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of this blade;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary vertical transverse section of the blade;

Fig. 12 is a vertical side elevation of a slightly Fig. 14 is a side elevation of another modified form of the tool;

Fig. 15 is a section on line Iii-I5 of Fig. 14;

Fig. 16 is a side elevation of the blade shown in Fig. 14;

Fig. 17 is a section on line l'l-l'l of Fig. 14;

Fig. 18 is a side elevation of still another modified form of the tool;

Fig. 19 is a side elevation of the blade shown in Fig. 18 i Fig. 20 is a section on line 2U2El of Fig. 18;

Fig. 21 is a vertical side elevation of a further modified form of the invention;

Fig. 22 is a section on line 2222 of Fig. 21;

Fig. 23 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present inventive ideas;

Fig. 24 is a plan view of another embodiment, and

Fig. 25 is a plan view of a tool to be used for zig-zag work.

The knife shown in Fig. 1 comprises two holder-halves l-I', made of a resilient metal stamping. Each half is stamped bowed or sprung slightly outwards in the middle as shown in Fig. 4, and the two halves are pivoted together by a double-headed pin 2, so that when unlocked, the members i at the open end of the knife converge resiliently together.

The holder-halves are each formed into a handle-portion 3 and a head-portion 4-, which latter is cut away at the lower portion of the front end to expose the blade. In the headportion, one of the halves bears lugs 5-5'; and registering apertures 6 therefor are formed in the other half. The lug 5 is located near the tip of the knife and the lug 5 is located near the rear end of the cut-away.

The blade isconstituted by a suitable piece of razor-steel cut out in rhomboidal shape, the two longer sides being ground to form a doublepointed, double-edged cutting instrumentality l. The blade is provided with apertures I in positions for registering with the lugs 5-5'. The blade can be mounted in the holder with the edge 8 down by the thumb and fingers of the hand holding the handle. After it becomes worn, it can likewise be removed by the fingers of the holding hand, and instead of having to replace it with a new one, the blade l. can be merely turned over through to locate the fresh edge 8 and its point in the proper place in the holder. Since the improved blade 1 costs but little more than the ordinary blade, both. money and time are thereby saved.

The holder-half I has a longitudinal slot Ill sitatefrequent adjustments of the blade.

therein, the rear end of the slot being enlarged. The holder-half I has a registering slot it therein, but this slot is left plain and of the same width throughout. A bolt 9 has its shank fitted in the slot I formed by the respective registering slots. The bolt has two heads 9 and 9". The head 9' is made smaller than the enlargement in the end of the slot [0, and the head 9" is made larger than the width of any part of the slot in". When the blade is properly mounted on the holder-half 3', the holder-halves can be slid together to close them over it and the bolt can then be slid along until its head 9 clears the enlargement, whereby the holder-halves are seized together and locked together with the blade mounted between them.

The knife may be held in one hand and the bolt manipulated in the proper direction by the thumb of that hand to open the holder, whereupon the holder-halves may be swung apart in parallel planes as shown in Fig. 7, giving ready access to the blade for any desired adjustment thereof. The knife may be locked in the same easy, simple style by merely reversing these operations. There is thus little danger of being cut in changing blades, or of losing time from the work in hand, as the other hand may be otherwise employed. When the bolt is unlocked in opening the knife, the ends of the holderhalves spring together as mentioned above, and prevent the blade falling out. The chances of dropping or losing the blade in the hurry of rapid work is hence reduced to the minimum.

In using the knife to cut out fur-pieces, since the front points of the holder-halves are sprung together, leaving no cracks or projections, and the locking means are located out of the way. there is little possibility of the knife catching in the hair of the pelt and ruining the fur-piece. Even when the blade is honed or sharpened right in the holder, which usually results in the holder being scraped and burred, no part of the present knife other than the blade can contact with the Whetstone, and hence there is no probability that they will have wire-edges or burrs put on them which in the ordinary knife are formed by the Whetstone and in subsequent use catch on the fur and pull it out and ruin the pelt.

In Fig. 7, the holder is constructed essentially the same as in the embodiment of Figs. 1-6 inclusive, except that the blade-holding lugs G2 are placed in line above the cut-out on the basesection I in order to adapt the holder to the dif ferent form of blade 13 shown in Fig. 8. This blade is made in trapezoidal form and provides one cutting edge and two piercing points. It is mounted in the holder, locked therein, and removed therefrom, in essentially the same way as the preceding form. Its advantage lies chiefly in the fact that for certain kinds of work, it is more important to have a new sharp point ready to replace a worn one than to have a new edge, and by simply turning the blade is over end for end, the worn point i3 may be replaced by the fresh point l3".

Figs. 9 and 10 show the holder of Figs. l.-8 used with an ordinary blade. The holder needs no modification for this use, and operates in essentially the same manner as with the blades of Figs. 1-8.

In Figs. 12 and 13 I have shown a knife for use where the nature of the work does not neces- In this case, the cost of manufacturing is somewhat reduced by providing a circular aperture I in the base-section I carrying the blade, around on the outer face of which aperture a nut 18 is soldered or otherwise attached. The section I is provided with an aperture I5 registering with aperture l5, and carries a set-screw i6 adapted to be screwed into the fixed nut to hold the sections together over the blade.

In Figs. 14-17 inclusive, a blade H is provided with backwardly slanting notches at its top for engagement with holding lugs H on the member I, and the locking means consist of a plate [8 pivoted by one end at point [9 to the holdersection I. This plate has a hook 20 at the other end adapted to engage over the other section. The holder has an arcuate slot 2! for the recep tion of the plate l8, which, when swung up into the slot, tightly holds the holder-halves together over the blade, but can be easily moved down by the thumb of the hand in which the knife is held to unlock the holder on occasion.

The knife shown in Figs. 18 and 19 consists of a holder-member 22 having a cut-out 23, and blade-lugs 24 A bar 25 is pivoted by one end to the member 22, and bears against the end of the mounted blade on occasion. Another bar 26 is mounted flat on top 01' the bar 25 and pivots on the same pivot, and is of suflicient length to lie over and contact the blade 30. The blade 3% is provided with notches 21, and when the locking member is swung up, the blade is forced upwardly and forwardly until the lugs seat against the bottom of the notches. The two-bar member thus constitutes a combined holder-half and locking device.

Any of the various modifications may, if desired, be provided with the locking-means shown in Fig. 21. In this figure, the apertures in the section I for the blade-lugs are made arcuate, and one end thereof is enlarged, forming the locking grooves 28. The lugs are each provided with heads 29. Thus when the holder-half having the lug-apertures is swung over the lugs and engaged therewith, the blades can be locked in place, and the holder-halves locked together, by the one device and the one movement. In this case, the special locking bolt of Figs. 1-10 may be dispensed with, if desired.

In Fig. 23, I have shown a plan of another form of my knife in the closed condition. This form also comprises two handle-halves pivoted together near their ends, and so forth, just like the others, but instead of the horizontal slot for the locking-bolt, it has an angled-slot, I00, consisting of a substantially horizontal portion and a portion angled at substantially 45 therefrom. Thereby the point of application of the compressive forces holding the handle-halves and blade properly rigidly together, is lowered to within a short distance of the blade, yet the bolt can be worked on a circular path best fitted to the natural arc of travel of the thumb in opening and closing the bolt. By these means, manipulation is made easier and the knife-components are more rigidly and securely locked together aiding substantially in the use of the article.

In Fig. 24, there is shown, in the open condition, an embodiment in which everything but the locking-means is constructed about the same as before, but instead of an angled course, there is a slot Iill and the slot NH follows only a 45 path. This form accomplishes substantially the same results as that of Fig. 23, but is easier to make, as the slot can be made by a single die-cut.

In Fig. 25, I have shown a small, short-pointed knife particularly provided for making zig-zag cuts. For such Work, only a point-cut is needed, and to this end the nose of the holder is sloped backwardly more, and the jaws have a shorter gap I02 than usual. There is a locking slot I0! in each half, as before, together with the bolt. This form is particularly adapted to use old Gillette-type blades.

The blades in each of the above instances are convexly ground, as shown in Fig. 11, instead of being hollow-ground, and hence there are no shoulders or ridges on the blade-edge to catch on the fur. Coupled with the manner in which the blade is mounted and that in which the holder-sections are locked together, this assures that there will be no likelihood of the fur-hairs being caught and pulled out by the present knife.

Each of the blades is preferably of quadrilateral outline, and has at least one angle less than the longer adjacent side constituting the cutting edge. The piercing point is also made to occupy at least one-fourth of the length of the blade.

The holder-halves of each modification are preferably made' of some inexpensive material like duralumin, and the blade may be made of old discarded safety-razor blades. The pivot pin, the lugs, and the locking means are all inexpensive, and only a few simple operations are necessary in manufacturing the knife. The cost of manufacture and consequently the sale price of the improved knife is hence no higher than that of the ordinary fur knife.

I claim:

A furriers cutting tool, comprising a pair of sections of the same general contour, said sections having portions adapted to enclose the upper edge of acutting blade and extensions at one end of said portions forming a handle, said sections being pivoted together adjacent the outer end of said handle-forming extensions and adapted to be swung about said pivot in substantially parallel planes, one of said sections having a plurality of blade-receiving studs and the other section having apertures adapted to be brought into registration with said studs and thereby assist in retaining the blade in place on said studs, a locking member having at least a part thereof of substantially U-shape pivotally secured to one of the sections and swingable into a position in which the legs of the U-shape portion straddle both sections to hold them together, and a blade held in place on said studs and between the sections and having a pointed piercing end extending beyond the outer end of the blade-enclosing portions of the sections.

AN GE CESAR DELBON. 

